Page 49 of The Runaway
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Perched on the top of a ladder outside the omegas’ quarters, Gabriel muttered a curse to himself as he pulled the damaged shingles off the roof. A storm the night before had dislodged some of the tiles, creating a leak in the corner of the bunkhouse. A clear sky and a drop in the wind had allowed repairs to begin first thing this morning, though the chilly air was making Gabriel’s fingers ache.
“It’s not too bad,” he reported to Niles, waiting at the bottom of the ladder. “Only three shingles damaged. It shouldn’t take too long to repair.”
“Thank goodness for that,” Niles said. “Better to get it done now, while it’s not snowing, or it’ll just get worse.”
Connor came trotting across the yard, a crate of extra shingles in his hands, which he handed off to Niles. “Here you go,” he said, sounding a touch breathless. “Do you need anything else?”
“That should do,” Gabriel said. “Watch out, I’m going to drop these down beside you.” Connor hurried out of the way, then he tossed the damaged pieces to the ground. “Can you let Antoine know it’s only a minor repair? I think he’s had quite enough worries about leaky roofs this year.” This was the fourth repair, a long year of wind and rain causing more than the normal amount of damage to the estate.
“Right away,” Connor said. His gaze lingered on Gabriel for just a moment longer, then he darted off across the yard, heading for the main house.
“Do you mind if I ask how you do that?” Niles asked, once Connor was out of earshot.
“Do what?” Gabriel asked, as he reached down to take the replacements from Niles.
“Get Connor to look at you like you hold the meaning of life in your bare hands.”
Gabriel’s head snapped up, and he turned automatically to look in the direction Connor had gone. He was just disappearing inside the main house. “Does he do that?”
“Every time you walk into the room. I’m not sure what you did during his heat, but it seems to have made an impression. I’m just wondering how I can get Adalene to look at me the same way.”
Ah, so this was about Adalene, then, not Connor. Gabriel felt a wave of relief at the realisation. “Are you having problems with Adalene?” he asked, not only out of genuine concern, but also to steer the conversation firmly away from Connor.
“Not specifically. I mean, she hasn’t said anything about being unhappy. But at the same time, she doesn’t look at me the way Connor looks at you. Or the way Dante looks at Antoine. And we still haven’t bonded after a year of trying. So I just think maybe I’m doing something wrong.”
Gabriel ignored the comment about Connor, unwilling to acknowledge his own thorny emotions on that topic. “Look, I don’t know a whole lot about bonding. But one thing I do know is that it needs to be very much a mutual thing. She has to want you as much as you want her, and vice versa. So just off the top of your head, what’s the most likely issue that causing a road block there?”
Niles’s answer came surprisingly quickly. “Maybe I’m not good enough for her.” He shifted from one foot to another uncomfortably. “I’m only nineteen years old. And even though I’m first alpha, I haven’t really done anything useful for the estate yet. Maybe she thinks I’m too young. Or maybe she thinks she can find someone better than me.”
Gabriel blinked down at him. He gave a heartfelt sigh. “Niles, I’ve seen the very worst of what humanity has to offer, in terms of alpha-omega relations. You treat Adalene with kindness, with respect, with more freedom than a lot ofbetasget to enjoy. So what exactly is it you think you’re not doing well enough?”
“I don’t know,” Niles said, sounding defeated. “I’m trying as hard as I can. I bring her gifts, I’m as gentle as I can be when we’re mating, I make time to talk to her when we’re working in the fields. But she just… None of it seems to have the right impact.”
“Give me an example. What’s a gift you’ve given her lately?”
“We were taking a walk in the orchard and I picked a mandarin and gave it to her. Omegas aren’t supposed to eat fruit without permission,” he explained. “But she just gave me this half-hearted smile and she only ate a little piece of it.”
“Does she like mandarins?”
Niles froze in place, frowning in confusion. “Um… I would assume so. Most people do.”
“Have you ever seen her eat one before?”
“Not specifically. I mean, I don’t keep track of everything she eats all the time.”
“Did you ask her if she liked them?”
“No…”
Gabriel finished placing the last shingle on the roof and climbed down from the ladder. He leaned on one of the rungs and looked Niles in the eye. “How did she feel about being bought by the Calvets?”
Niles looked affronted. “I would assume she was pretty happy. None of the omegas have ever complained about being here.”
“Have you actually asked her?”
“Well, no, but…”